Bottle calf question

[farmmom]

I have a 2 1/2 week old Holstein bull calf that I am raising on goat milk. My question is this. How much milk should he be taking at this point? He is taking a gallon/day. Is this too much? Is it possible to give him too much? His feces look normal. He is active and inquisitive and growing very quickly. (He's as big as my big Nubian doe) He is my first calf, so I want to make sure I'm doing this right.

I saw the recommendation to bottle feed until 12 weeks. Another question. Is it ok to let them drink the milk from a bucket (not the nipple kind) or do they need to suckle? How much would he be taking daily at 12 wks?

[Callieslamb]

I got a tape and measured and then followed the directions in my calf-raising book. I think it is 1 qt. for every 10 lbs of weight. My guy is 70 lbs so he should get around 7 PINTS a day or just under a gallon. (I give him just over 3/4 of a bottle a feeding - we just switched to 2x a day, since he is not eating a bit of grain and drinking water on his own. FREEDOM!!!

[topside1]

Farmmom continue to give him one gallon per day. There is no need to feed him more milk. The main objective is to stimulate his appetite towards grasses, grains, or hay. If you continue to give more milk that will be all they look forward too. Continue what you are doing and all will be well. I wean at eight weeks, some folks wean earlier other later...do whatever your budget can handle beyond eight weeks...Topside

[sammyd]

A gallon should be sufficient.
We go 8 weeks if the animal is eating plenty of starter grain along with some hay and drinking water.
There are studies showing that bottle feeding is better for the calves. Along with not making the hole in the nipple really big....This allows the milk to reach the proper part of the digestive system and produce plenty of saliva which acts as a buffer and keeps the digestive system working well.
However, you're not gonna kill em by bucket feeding.

[tyusclan]

I agree with the others that a gallon a day is about right.

You can DEFINITELY feed too much. One of the biggest mistakes new calf owners make is to give the calf more milk, because he acts like he's still starving to death after he's had a bottle. RESIST the urge to feed more. It can cause scours, and that can be deadly.

I also agree with sammyd. I think a bottle is better, since it's more like them nursing the cow. But, thousands of calves are raised each year on buckets, so they will thrive that way as well.

[agmantoo]

Callieslamb
You need to recheck your calculations in your post above. You are also feeding the calf too much and yes it is possible to give the calf scours by over feeding.

[Callieslamb]

Originally Posted by agmantoo

Callieslamb
You need to recheck your calculations in your post above. You are also feeding the calf too much and yes it is possible to give the calf scours by over feeding.

No, I feed him 7 pints a day - not 7 quarts - that was my mistake. I still feed him just under a gallon. Many thanks for bringing that to my attention though.

[travlnusa]

After each feeding, you need to shove a small handfull of starter grain into his mouth. Also leave a bucket of grain with about 1" in it.

When you start to to this, hw will just stand there having no idea what is going on. After awhile, he will start to poke at it, and them finally start to eat it. Once he is eating a few lbs a day on his own, start to wean him.

I aim to wean at 4 weeks. A few will be sooner, a few will be later. The sooner you get him weaned, the more money you make.

Good job keeping the fresh water in front of him.

[farmmom]

He is already eating 16% calf starter. I'm wanting to get him growing as he is destined for the freezer. It is currently not costing much to feed him as I am feeding him goat milk from my own goats. They are giving me 2 gallons a day, which is much more than I use in a days time. He always has fresh water available, and is drinking a good amount.